Bird poop on the lines causes nuclear power shutdown

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Indian Point, on the Hudson River 24 miles north of New York City, was the subject of a shutdown in December thanks to bird excrement causing a breaker to trip.

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Bird "streamer" causes reactor shut down

Poop caused an arc between two wires, activating a trip

(CNN)An errant bird dropping appears to have caused the temporary shutdown of part of the Indian Point nuclear plant in upstate New York.

A report by Entergy, the site operator, pointed the finger at a bird "streamer" -- colorfully explained in the document as "long streams of excrement from large birds that are often expelled as a bird takes off from a perch" -- as the cause of the shutdown, which tripped a safety breaker and took a reactor at the site out of commission for three days in December.

There was no leak of radiation as a result of the accident, and at no time was public health and safety in jeopardy, the report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted.

While, more commonly, the buildup of guano on the lines hampers operating efficiency, in this case the report said that it had caused an electrical arc between wires at a transmission tower.

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If a streamer contacts an energized conductor, the report says, the current can travel up the stream of poop back to the bird or its perch, resulting in "bird electrocution, power outage and/or line trip."

Thankfully, the document reported that no bird carcasses were found in the vicinity of the transmission tower.